The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Xcel Energy recently announced an agreement to develop software to evaluate siting options for off-grid and grid-connected commercial rooftop solar electricity systems in Colorado.

According to Xcel, the project will utilize NREL's Renewable Planning Model (RPM) -- software that will link NREL and Xcel's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to map the utility company's facilities, loads and consumption. Xcel noted that the GIS data will be overlaid on top of NREL's GIS data for solar resources, land ownership, land usage and satellite images.

Xcel estimates that it will need 18 megawatts of solar power in place by 2007, at least half of which must come from on-site, customer-owned generation facilities, to meet the solar component mandate for renewable energy in Colorado. The company said it plans on investing more than $250,000 into the project.